For the purposes of this article:
(1) "Active duty" means military service performed as State Active Duty under the South Carolina Military Code, or corresponding provisions of the applicable state statute for South Carolina residents who are National Guard members of other states; military service performed under the provisions of Title 32, United States Code; or military service performed under the provisions of Title 10, United States Code.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
(3) "Duty as a result of September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks" means active duty service of a minimum of thirty consecutive days, directly related to the President's Partial Mobilization Authority in response to the attacks, (currently referred to as Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom); any future operations as determined by the President; or any future operations as determined by the Governor of the State.
(4) "Families of members" means a husband, wife, child, mother, father, brother, sister, or other person who has been approved as a dependent and is enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) in accordance with applicable military regulations. A custodial parent or guardian of a member's dependent may apply for a grant on behalf of that dependent.
(5) "Next of kin" means the person listed as next of kin for the member in DEERS. In the case of multiple entries for next of kin, the first person listed is considered next of kin for the purposes of this article.
HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 308, Section 1.B; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt V, Section 7.BB.4, eff July 1, 2015; 2019 Act No. 26 (H.3438), Section 3, eff July 1, 2019.
Editor's Note
2019 Act No. 26, Section 4, provides as follows:
"SECTION 4. (A) All classified or unclassified personnel employed by these offices on the effective date of this act, either by contract or by employment at will, shall become employees of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. The Department of Administration shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state laws and regulations.
"(B) Regulations promulgated by the Division of Veterans' Affairs as it formerly existed under the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the newly created Department of Veterans' Affairs.
"(C) The Code Commissioner is directed to change or correct all references to Division of Veterans' Affairs within the Department of Administration in the 1976 Code, to reflect the transfer of it to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. References to the Division of Veterans' Affairs in the 1976 Code or other provisions of law are considered to be and must be construed to mean appropriate reference to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. This authority shall not be construed to remove any authority from the Department of Administration for approval of statewide policies, procedures, regulations, rates and fees, or specific actions requiring Department of Administration approval."
Effect of Amendment
2014 Act No. 121, Section 7.BB.4, in subsection (2), substituted "Veterans' Affairs in the Department of Administration" for "Veterans Affairs in the Office of the Governor".
2019 Act No. 26, Section 3, in the first undesignated paragraph, substituted "For the purposes of" for "As used in"; and rewrote (2).